Page 26 of When the Stars Rise

It helps to have a tight-knit circle of friends who have all achieved a certain level of fame in their own right. Bodhi Wilder is a pro surfer. Everly is a model and a surfer. Isla is a model and fashion designer. Sage Harper is an oceanographer and filmmaker. None of us have chosen a traditional path.

I met them through Hayley when I was eighteen. Bastian Cox, who produced her albums and signed her to his record label, introduced them. He’s good friends with Shiloh and with Bodhi’s mom, Remy, a former model.

And as much as I hate to admit it, Dean’s doing a good job managing Hayley’s career and ensuring she’s surrounded by good people who won’t sell her out or take advantage of her.

Ever since we were kids, Hayley has wanted to be a dancer or a singer. Even though I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to be back then, I knew I wanted to see the world, and being a risk taker has always come naturally so my career choice was a no-brainer.

“Why did you agree to come on this tour with me?” Hayley asks quietly.

It’s a departure from our earlier conversation, and I’m not entirely sure why she’s asking it, but I give it some thought before responding.

I could tell her she’s my best friend and I love spending time with her. Which is true.

I could tell her that Everly and I spent an entire day on the beach in Fiji discussing relationships. We talked about her and Zeke, and me and Hayley. About how short life is and how quickly and unexpectedly it can all get ripped away. You can lose the people you love in a heartbeat. Just like Hayley lost her parents and Everly lost Zeke.

Contrary to popular opinion, skydiving into the Blue Hole in Belize didn’t kill Zeke Harrington. Neither did faulty equipment or the reefs or the water landing. It was the way he chose to go. By jumping out of a plane fourteen thousand feet above sea level on a perfect cloudless day. It was all blue skies for as far as the eye could see.

I know the truth, and Everly knows it too. Not because I told her, I didn’t, but she justknew.

And that’s what makes it so much harder to wrap our heads around.

Hayley doesn’t know any of this because I lied about how it happened.

I lied because it was what Zeke’s family needed to hear. If I’ve learned anything from the night Hayley’s parents died, it’s that sometimes you have to lie to protect the people you love.

But sometimes… you have to be brutally honest.

So I could give Hayley a million reasons why I’m here right now, but they’d all be half-truths. She needs to know where I stand, and I owe it to both of us to be honest and not sugarcoat it.

“The truth?” Hayley nods, but she’s chewing her bottom lip, a telltale sign that she’s nervous to hear my answer. “It’s a last-ditch attempt to see if we have what it takes to make it.”

There. It’s out. My meaning is clear. If we can’t get it right this time, I doubt that we ever will.

She swallows. Bites her lip. “And what if we can’t make it work?”

I don’t want to say it, but I need to. “Then we’re going to have to set each other free.”

Her breath catches, and her eyes drift shut like the truth is too painful to face. And it is.

It fucking hurts to think there’s a chance we won’t end up together. I used to believe that she was my end game. The girl I’d marry, raise a family with and grow old with. Never doubted it for a minute when we were younger.

But now I don’t even know if that’s true anymore. Her walls are high, my shields are up, and if there’s any chance of making this work we’d need to take a wrecking ball to our fortress and raze it to the ground.

Whatever we decide, we can’t stay stuck in this limbo forever. It’s not fair to either of us.

We either have to find a way to make it work or find a way to move on without each other.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Hayley

On Wednesday morning,I jolt awake when the bus rolls into Boston after an overnight trip from DC. I check the time on my phone and let out a groan. It’s only five in the morning, and I’m wide awake.

After trying and failing to get back to sleep, I sit up and lean against the headboard, scrolling through my missed messages.

Asher: Hey babe, just checking in to see how you’re doing. See you Thursday night, yeah? Party starts at 7.

Asher has always called me babe. I’m convinced he doesn’t remember my name half the time. Or maybe he hooks up with so many girls he uses the universal babe so he won’t get the name wrong.